British passport

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

UK biometric passport, issued since 2006. Passports issued since 1988 have a similar format, but until 1997 had the words "European Community" written in place of "European Union" (Crown copyright).

British passports may be issued to people holding any of the various forms of British nationality.

[edit] Issuing

In the United Kingdom, British passports (United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland) are issued by the Identity and Passport Service. In the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man, British passports are issued by the Lieutenant-Governor.

In British Overseas Territories, British passports are issued by the Governor. In Commonwealth or foreign countries, British passports are issued by the Passport Section of a British Consulate, Embassy, or High Commission.

At present holders of the following forms of British nationality can apply for a British passport:

British citizens (GBR)
British Overseas Territories citizens (formerly British Dependent Territories citizens) (GBD)
British Overseas citizens (GBO)
British Subjects (GBS)
British Protected Persons (GBP)
British Nationals (Overseas) (GBN)

The three-character codes appearing after each type of nationality above are the ISO/IEC 7501-1 machine readable passport alpha-3 country codes of such British passports.

No British national has a legal right to be issued a British passport, except for British Nationals (Overseas) who have an entitlement to hold a British passport under article 4(2) of the Hong Kong (British Nationality) Order 1986. All other British passports are therefore issued at the discretion of the government under the Royal Prerogative.

Right of abode, i.e., the right to enter and live in the UK freely, is only automatically held by British citizens, as well as by some British subjects and those other Commonwealth citizens who were patrials under the Immigration Act 1971.

[edit] Wording

Each British passport contains on its inside cover the words in the English language only:

Her Britannic Majesty's Secretary of State requests and requires in the Name of Her Majesty all those whom it may concern to allow the bearer to pass freely without let or hindrance and to afford the bearer such assistance and protection as may be necessary.

In older passports, more specific reference was made to "Her Britannic Majesty's Principal Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs", and included the name of the relevant Secretary of State.

Passports issued in overseas territories are issued in the name of the Governor, rather than the Secretary of State, in the name of Her Majesty.

[edit] Extra Pages

Unlike US Passports, pages cannot be added into British passports. There must be at least one completely blank page for the passport to remain valid. If a passport is full, the bearer must apply for a new passport to use it.

However, like expired passports, passports without blank pages that have not been cancelled are still valid ID, and therefore can be used as such in the UK and for travel in the EU.

[edit] Lookalike passports

British "look-alike" passport, issued to British nationals who are not European citizens

For the purposes of the European Communities treaties, the nationals of the United Kingdom comprise all British citizens, British Overseas Territories citizens by virtue of a connection with Gibraltar and British subjects with right of abode in the UK (mainly, but not exclusively, those connected with the Republic of Ireland before 1949). These UK nationals have the status of European citizen in common with nationals of other member states of the European Union.

British nationals who are not European citizens are issued what is known as "lookalike passports". These are similar to normal British passports, except that they do not have the words "European Union" on the cover, and do not contain any EU-specific information inside, e.g., the words "Passport - United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland" and the information on the photograph page are given only in English and French, rather than all the official languages of the European Union.

[edit] Endorsements

Certain British passports are issued with printed endorsements in the Official Observations page. These form part of the passport when it is issued, and should be distinguished from immigration stamps subsequently entered in the visa pages:

Holder is not entitled to benefit from European Community provisions relating to employment or establishment

British citizens from the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man without a qualifying connection to the United Kingdom by descent or residency have this endorsement in their passports, as the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man are only part of the European Community for the purposes of the free movement of goods.

Endorsements found in a British National (Overseas) Passport.

Holder of this passport has Hong Kong Permanent Identity Card No: A123456(7) which states that holder has right of abode in Hong Kong *

British National (Overseas) passports will have this endorsement in their passport, as a valid Hong Kong Permanent Identity Card (which guarantees right of abode in Hong Kong) is required to possess a BN(O) passport.

Holder is entitled to right of abode in the United Kingdom

British subjects with the right of abode (usually from the Republic of Ireland) will have this endorsement in their passports. Commonwealth citizens, with the right of abode, who do not hold a United Kingdom passport are eligible to have a certificate of entitlement to the right of abode placed in the visa pages of whichever country's passport they do hold, upon request.

Holder is entitled to readmission in the United Kingdom

British Overseas citizens, British subjects and British protected persons without the right of abode who have been granted indefinite leave to enter or remain retain this entitlement for life, and their passports are accordingly issued with this endorsement.

Holder is subject to control under the Immigration Act 1971

British nationals without the right of abode will have this endorsements in their passports unless they have been granted indefinite leave to enter or remain.

In accordance with UK immigration rules the holder of this passport does not require an entry certificate or visa to visit the UK

This endorsement is found in British National (Overseas) passport and BN(O)s enjoy six-month visa free access to the UK as a visitor.

Holder is also known as ...

This endorsement is found in passports where the holder uses or retains another professional name or has an academic, feudal or legal title. The styling 'Dr ...', 'Professor ...' or similar is recorded here, or the alternative professional name.

[edit] History

Safe Conduct documents, usually notes signed by the monarch, were issued to foreigners as well as English subjects in medieval times. They were first mentioned in an Act of Parliament in 1414. Between 1540 and 1685, the Privy Council issued passports although they were still signed by the monarch until the reign of Charles II when the Secretary of State could sign them instead. The Secretary of State signed all passports in place of the monarch from 1794 onwards, at which time formal records started to be kept[1].

Passports were written in Latin or English until 1772 when French was used instead. From 1858, English was used, with some sections translated into French until 1921.

In 1858, passports became a standard document issued solely to British nationals. Until 1915, they were a simple single-sheet paper document and included a photograph of the holder.

The British Nationality and Status of Aliens Act 1914 was passed on the outbreak of the First World War. At this time a new format was introduced, a single sheet folded into eight and containing a cardboard cover. It included a description of the holder as well as a photograph, and had to be renewed after two years.

[edit] The Old Blue passport

An Old Blue passport. The top window contains the name, and the bottom the passport number in the format 123456 X. The top right hand corner has been clipped to show that it is no longer valid. (Crown copyright)

This image has an uncertain copyright status and is pending deletion. You can comment on the removal.

A 32-page passport, now known as the Old Blue, came into use in 1920 with the formation of the Passport Service following international agreement on a standard format for passports, and remained in use until replaced by the European Union style machine readable passports in late 1988.

Two versions were available, one for individuals, but which could also include the person's spouse, and another for families which included their children as well.

Various changes to the design were made over the years[2]:

In 1954, the name of the Secretary of State was removed[3].
In 1968, the validity was extended from two to ten years.
At the end of 1972, several modifications were made. A special blue watermarked paper was introduced to make alteration and forgery harder. The number of pages was reduced from 32 to 30, and descriptions of the holder's eye colour and (for a married woman) maiden name were removed.
In May 1973, an optional 94-page passport was made available which provided many more pages for immigration stamps and visas for frequent travellers.
In 1975, lamination over the bearer's photograph was introduced to make alteration harder. Overprinting of the laminate was added in 1981 to make removal easier to spot.
The holder's occupation and country of residence were removed in 1982.
In July 1988, changes were made to ease the introduction of the machine readable passports later in the year. Joint and Family passports were no longer issued and the descriptions of distinguishing features and height were removed.

[edit] The British Visitor's Passport

A new type, the British Visitor's Passport, was introduced in 1961, and was a single page cardboard document valid for a year and obtainable from a Post Office. It was recognised by most West European countries, but was dropped in 1995 since it did not identify the holder's nationality nor did it meet new security standards.

[edit] The Burgundy passport

On 15 August 1988, the Glasgow passport office became the first to issue burgundy-coloured machine-readable passports[4]. They followed a common format agreed amongst member states of the European Community, and had the words 'European Community' on the cover. This was changed to 'European Union' in 1997. The passport is burgundy coloured, machine-readable, and has 32 or 48 pages. The machine-readable portion is two lines of printed text in a format agreed amongst members of the International Civil Aviation Organisation.

Some types of passport omit the reference to the European Union, for example those for citizens of British overseas territories (other than those from Gibraltar), British subjects without the Right of abode, British protected persons and British National (Overseas).

The current version captures a digital image of the photograph, signature and reproduces these onto the personal details page of the passport. The whole page is protected from modification by a laminate, which incorporates a colour holographic image comprising a Tudor Rose, Daffodil, Shamrock and Thistle underneath a representation of the British Crown. The hologram is affixed directly over the holder's photograph (tilting the passport page in direct light reveals the image clearly). The newest passports (introduced in 2006) are biometric and have an RFID chip and antenna on the other side of the laminated details page. The chip holds the same information as is printed on the other side of the page and a digital copy of the photograph with biometric information for use with facial recognition systems. In addition, both the Welsh and Scottish Gaelic languages have been included for the first time. These now appear alongside official translations of the passport title and notes - a facility provided in addition to the mandatory translations into the official EU languages. The data page however retains exclusive use of the English and French languages for listing of the holder's personal information.[5]

[edit] National identity registration

Under the Identity Cards Act 2006, probably from 2008, anyone applying for a passport will be required to have their details entered into a centralised computer database, the National Identity Register. Once registered, they will be obliged to update any change to their address and other personal details.

It is expected that the cost of a passport and ID card package will rise to at least £93 to help fund the new scheme.

In May 2006 a "Renew for Freedom" campaign [6] was launched by the NO2ID opposition group, urging passport holders to renew their passports in the summer of 2006 in order to delay being entered on the National Identity Register. This followed the comment made by Charles Clarke in the House of Commons that "anyone who feels strongly enough about the linkage [between passports and the ID scheme] not to want to be issued with an ID card in the initial phase will be free to surrender their existing passport and apply for a new passport before the designation order takes effect" [7].

In response, the Home Office said that it was "hard to see what would be achieved, other than incurring unnecessary expense" by renewing passports early [8].

main article: British national identity card

[edit] Fees

The cost of obtaining a standard passport over the years has been as follows. It is expected that fees will rise to at least £93 to help fund the National Identity Register and ID cards, as discussed above.

£66 - 5 October 2006 - for the introduction of the latest generation passport, anti-fraud measures and interviews for first-time applicants [9]
£51 - 1 December 2005 - to reflect the cost of implementing key anti-fraud measures [10]
£42 - 2 October 2003 - to pay for new anti-fraud measures [11]
£33 - 21 November 2002 [12]
£30 - 14 January 2002 [13]
£28 - 16 December 1999 - to fund a major overhaul of the Passport Agency following the summer crisis [14]
£21 - 26 March 1998 [15]
£18 - November 1992

[edit] Vulnerabilities

According to The Guardian, the information contained on a biometric passport can be viewed using readily available hardware and software. Information is stored in encrypted form on an RFID tag, with the password as a combination of information written on the passport, so that anyone with access to the passport will be able to read the chip. The passport is also vulnerable to brute-force attacks. And because it is possible to read the RFID tags remotely at a distance of several centimetres, it is not necessary to be in possession of the passport to extract the data. ^[1]

As a result, the cloning of the passport is a possibility. Because the biometric passport is supposedly highly secure and therefore trusted, it is thought that the holder of a cloned passport might be more likely to escape detection than the holder of a traditional passport.

[edit] Visa-free travel

[edit] Africa

Botswana 90 days
Burundi Visa issued upon arrival
Cape Verde Visa issued upon arrival
Comoros 24-hour transit visa issued upon arrival. The following day, visitors are required to go to the immigration office in downtown to change their visa status. A fee is charged, depending on length of stay
Djibouti Visa issued upon arrival for 3,000 Djiboutian franc (10 days), 5,000 Djiboutian franc (one month)
Egypt 30-day visa issued upon arrival for US$15
Ethiopia 3-month visa issued upon arrival (British Citizen passport only)
Gambia 90 days
Kenya 3-month visa issued upon arrival for US$50
Lesotho 14 days
Madagascar 90-day visa issued upon arrival for 28,000 Madagascar ariary
Malawi 90 days
Mauritius 6 months in a year (tourist), 90 days in a year (business)
Mayotte One month
Morocco 3 months (British Citizen passport only)
Mozambique 30-day visa issued upon arrival for US$25
Namibia 3 months
Réunion 3 months (British Citizen passport and British Overseas Territories Citizen passport issued in Bermuda only)
Rwanda 3-month visa issued upon arrival (British Citizen passport only)
Saint Helena
Senegal 3 months
Seychelles One month visa issued upon arrival
South Africa 90 days
Swaziland Visa issued upon arrival
Tanzania Visa issued upon arrival for US$50
Togo 7 days
Tunisia 3 months
Uganda Visa issued upon arrival for US$30 (single entry), US$80 (6 months multiple entry), US$160 (one year multiple entry)
Zambia Visa issued upon arrival for 35 British pound (single entry), 45 British pound (multiple entry)
Zimbabwe 3-month (tourist) or 30-day (business) visa issued upon arrival for US$30 ~ 55

[edit] Americas

Anguilla 3 months
Antigua and Barbuda 6 months
Argentina 90 days
Aruba 3 months
Bahamas 8 months
Barbados 6 months
Belize One month
Bermuda 6 months
Bolivia 90 days (British Citizen passport only)
Brazil 90 days
British Virgin Islands 3 months
Canada 6 months
Cayman Islands 30 days (extendable up to 6 months)
Chile 90 days
Colombia 90 days
Costa Rica 90 days
Dominica 6 months
Dominican Republic 30-day Tourist Card issued upon arrival for US$10
Ecuador 90 days per year
El Salvador 3 months
Falkland Islands
French Guiana 3 months
Greenland Same as Denmark (3 months)
Grenada 6 months
Guadeloupe 3 months
Guatemala 90 days
Guyana 3 months (British Citizen passport only)
Haiti 3 months
Honduras 3 months
Jamaica Except British Overseas Territories Citizen passport issued in Cayman Islands
Martinique 3 months
Mexico 180 days (British Citizen passport), 90 days (British Overseas Territories Citizen passport)
Montserrat 3 months
Netherlands Antilles 3 months
Nicaragua 90 days
Panama 90 days
Paraguay 90 days
Peru 90 days
Puerto Rico Same as United States (90 days; British Citizen passport only)
Saint Kitts and Nevis 6 months (British Overseas Territories Citizen passport issued in Montserrat), 3 months (other British passports)
Saint Lucia 6 weeks
Saint Pierre and Miquelon
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 6 months (British Overseas Territories Citizen passport issued in Anguilla and Montserrat), one month (other British passports)
South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands
Suriname 120 days (British Overseas Territories Citizen passport issued in Montserrat only)
Trinidad and Tobago
Turks and Caicos Islands 30 days
United States 90 days (British Citizen passport only; see Visa Waiver Program)
U.S. Virgin Islands 90 days (Holders of British Citizen passport and permanent resident of British Virgin Islands only)
Uruguay 3 months (British Citizen passport only)
Venezuela 90-day Tourist Card issued by airline

[edit] Asia

Armenia 21-day visa issued upon arrival for US$30 (available at Yerevan Zvartnots airport)
Azerbaijan 30-day visa issued upon arrival for US$40 (one passport photo required)
Bahrain 3-month visa issued upon arrival for 5 Bahraini dinar
Bangladesh 15-day visa issued upon arrival for US$50 (available at Dhaka ZIA airport)
Brunei 30 days (British Citizen passport only)
Cambodia One month visa issued upon arrival for US$20 (tourist), US$25 (business) (passport-size photo required)
Republic of China (Taiwan) 90 days (British Citizen passport only)
Georgia 90 days (British Citizen passport only), visa issued upon arrival (other British passports)
Hong Kong 180 days (British Citizen passport), 90 days (other British passports)
Indonesia Visa issued upon arrival for US$10 (7 days), US$25 (30 days)
Israel 3 months
Japan 3 months (British Citizen passport only, extendable up to 6 months)
Jordan Visa issued upon arrival for 10 Jordanian dinar
South Korea 3 months (British Citizen passport only)
Kuwait 3-month visa issued upon arrival for 5 Kuwaiti dinar
Kyrgyzstan Visa issued upon arrival (British Citizen passport only) : Business visa US$36 ~ 70, Single tourist visa US$35, Multiple tourist visa US$55
Laos 15-day visa issued upon arrival for US$30 (3 x 4 cm size photo required)
Lebanon Visa issued upon arrival : one month (no charge), 3-month single entry (50,000 Lebanese pound), 3-month multiple entries (100,000 Lebanese pound)
Macau 6 months
Malaysia 3 months
Maldives 30-day visa issued upon arrival
Nepal Visa issued upon arrival for US$30 (60 days), US$80 (150 days, multiple entry)
Oman Visa issued upon arrival : one month (6 Omani rial), one year multiple entries stay up to 3-week per visit (10 Omani rial)
Philippines 21 days
Qatar 21-day visa issued upon arrival for 55 Qatari rial (British Citizen passport only)
Singapore 14 days or 30 days (determined upon arrival)
Sri Lanka 30-day visa issued upon arrival
Thailand 30 days (British Citizen passport only)
Timor-Leste 30-day visa issued upon arrival for US$30
Turkey 3-month with multiple entry visa issued upon arrival for US$20, 10 British Pound, 15 Euro
United Arab Emirates 60-day visa issued upon arrival (British Citizen passport only, extendable up to 90 days)
Yemen 3-month visa issued upon arrival for 10,500 Yemeni rial

[edit] Europe

Albania One month (entry tax : EUR 10)
Andorra Same as France and Spain (3 months)
Austria 3 months
Belarus 30 days
Belgium 90 days in a half year
Bosnia and Herzegovina 90 days
Bulgaria 90 days in a 6-month
Croatia 90 days
Czech Republic 3 months
Denmark 3 months
Estonia 90 days in a half year
Faroe Islands Same as Denmark (3 months)
Finland 3 months in a 6-month
France 3 months
Republic of Macedonia 30 days
Germany 90 days in a half year
Gibraltar
Greece 3 months
Guernsey
Hungary 90 days
Iceland 3 months
Ireland 3 months
Isle of Man
Italy 90 days
Jersey
Latvia 90 days in a half year
Liechtenstein Same as Switzerland (3 months)
Lithuania 90 days in a half year
Luxembourg 3 months
Malta 3 months
Moldova 90 days
Monaco Same as France (3 months)
Netherlands 90 days in a half year
Norway 3 months in a 6-month
Poland 3 months
Portugal 90 days
Romania 90 days
San Marino Same as Italy (90 days)
Slovakia 90 days in a 6-month
Slovenia 30 days
Spain 3 months
Sweden 3 months in a 6-months
Switzerland 3 months
Ukraine 90 days
Vatican City Same as Italy (90 days)

[edit] Oceania

American Samoa 30 days (British Citizen passport only)
Cook Islands 31 days
Fiji 4 months
Guam 15 days (British Citizen passport only)
Kiribati British Citizen passport and British Overseas Territories Citizen passport issued in Bermuda, Cayman Islands, Montserrat and Turks & Caicos Islands only
Federated States of Micronesia 30 days
French Polynesia One month
Marshall Islands 30-day visa issued upon arrival (British Citizen passport only)
Federated States of Micronesia 30 days
New Caledonia 3 months
New Zealand 6 months (British Citizen passport only)
Niue 30 days
Northern Mariana Islands 30 days (British Citizen passport only)
Palau 30 days
Papua New Guinea 60-day visa issued upon arrival for 100 Papua New Guinean kina (tourist), 500 Papua New Guinean kina (business)
Pitcairn Islands
Samoa 60 days
Solomon Islands 3 months
Tonga 31-day visa issued upon arrival
Tuvalu One month
Vanuatu 30 days